Madrid logged 1,858 vehicle thefts in the first half of 2026, compared with 136 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The capital of Gran Canaria recorded about five thefts a week, or approximately 0.75 a day. Yet it had the second-lowest rate among Spain’s ten most populous cities.
Figures from the Ministry of the Interior, compared with vehicle numbers from the Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT), put Las Palmas at 4.18 thefts per 100,000 vehicles, below the ten-city average of 6.36. Only Zaragoza had a lower rate. The measure adjusts for the number of vehicles; the raw total shows how many thefts were reported.
That distinction matters when comparing cities. Barcelona recorded more than 51 thefts a week and Seville around 28 on weekdays. Madrid averaged 10 a day, or 72 a week. The figures cover reported criminal incidents, not convictions; recovered vehicles are not part of that measure. This is a different category from road-safety cases such as the C-17 speeding case.
Palma de Mallorca recorded 18 vehicle thefts a week and Málaga 17. Valencia had 12, while Alicante reported eight, slightly more than Las Palmas. Murcia averaged 1.01 cases a day, compared with 0.75 in the Gran Canaria capital.
Zaragoza recorded 83 thefts in the same six-month period, against 136 in Las Palmas. The Ministry’s figures put both cities below the other large urban areas on theft rates, while Las Palmas still logged roughly five reports a week.
